Butler ‘excited for the future’ of Penn St.

December 25, 2012

Deon Butler's name still tops the charts for career receptions at Penn State, as well as a couple of other categories, but the former Nittany Lion thinks those days are numbered.

"There are a lot of guys that I've seen, and, the way they throw that ball around, they're going to be rewriting that record book," Butler said. "They are going to break so many more receiving records. I'm holding on to mine for a couple more days it feels like I am going to have it, because young [Allen] Robinson, he's good, and I'm sure they're going to have a couple more guys stepping up."

Even while his Seattle Seahawks are getting ready for the NFL playoffs, Butler, who caught 179 passes for 2,771 yards and 22 touchdowns in his career with the Nittany Lions, still has been following his college team. He's taken notice of the passing game Bill O'Brien installed in his first season guiding the Nittany Lions.

"Coach O'Brien did a great thing with the passing game. I've definitely been paying attention," Butler said. "I've spent many days talking with Jordan Norwood, a guy that I played with at Penn State, just talking about the receivers and the passing game that they have now and a lot of the NFL concepts that we can see that they're running.

"I'm excited for the future that I can see. We've definitely talked about it."

Butler said he has watched every Penn State game he could on television and is very pleased of what the Lions accomplished in going 8-4 this year after the program was hit with harsh NCAA sanctions.

"I love what they've done, and I'm so proud of those guys," Butler said. "Everybody pegged them for two-to-three wins or something like that. They stuck together, the guys that stayed there. They represented Penn State. And everybody - not just the football players - that went to Penn State is just so proud of those guys."